AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs Acquires Shares of 4,032 VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs has acquired a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. worth approximately $1,099,000 by purchasing 4,032 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple large investors, including AQR Capital Management and Alliancebernstein L.P., have significantly increased their holdings in VeriSign, indicating strong institutional interest.
• VeriSign recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share and authorized a stock buyback plan of $1.11 billion to repurchase up to 4.1% of its outstanding shares.

AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,032 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,099,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 13,000.0% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 106.5% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock traded down $1.90 on Friday, reaching $283.99. The stock had a trading volume of 136,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 853,683. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.62 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60. The business's 50-day moving average price is $277.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $269.62. The stock has a market cap of $26.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.88 and a beta of 0.79.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The firm had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total transaction of $1,320,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 508,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,392,123.80. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,706 shares of company stock worth $12,733,269. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $277.50.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.